southern illinois still stinks like fart.
we have been through 5 states so far and seen 3 confederate memorial signs (illinois and a brief pass through kentucky were the exceptions).
kentucky fans are irritating
grownup frat boys and sorority girls still act like college frat boys and sorority girls
any gathering of well to do college alumni smells the same
the nashville science discovery center is the bestest science museum EVAR
the battle of nashville was pretty darn integral to union victory in the civil war
there are more awesome classic rock stations in alabama than one would think
there are more christian radio stations in southwest missouri than in alabama
khary can explain gravity
khary knows that jupiter has the most moons of any planet in the solar system.
alabama bayous stink, too, but at least not like fart.
nashville is a surprisingly cool city.
more people in tennessee seem to smoke than in missouri.
watching the sun rise over western kentucky and the shawnee national forest is inspiring.
fort negley was constructed by runaway slaves and free blacks for the union.
the union didn't ASK said black laborers if they wanted to be laborers, but instead conscripted them from the surrounding area.
about 1,100 black laborers built the intricate stone fort over the course of 4 months.
the union didn't even bother to provide tents for the black laborers.
between 500 and 800 of those laborers died in that short 4 months; only 310 survived through the completion to receive their checks.
did you catch that the union didn't even pay most of the blacks who built the largest stone fort in north america at the time?
we haven't looked too deeply into it, but khary is concerned that we didn't see any graveyards for the men who built the fort, and we didn't find any information about that yet.
we have come a hell of a long way in only 146 years, but a visit to the south will cure you of any "postracial" notions about american society.
i'm not particularly fond of the deep south.
we spent a considerable amount of time out and about in nashville, including strolling around downtown, and yet dawud and i were the only interracial couple we saw.
I'm cracking up over the first half of this post, particularly the "Illinois smells like fart" part and the "Kentucky fans are irritating." I did a campus visit to UK when I was considering attending there, and yeah, their fans are pretty obnoxious.
ReplyDeleteThat's horrible about Fort Negley. In general, I tend to share your view about race and the south, but there are exceptions. Like Austin.